Air Peace boss stresses importance of solid foundation in aviation

Chairman of Nigeria’s Air Peace Airline, Mr Allen Onyema has emphasized the importance of solid foundation to the growth of the country’s aviation sector.

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, the airline chief while commenting on the reelection of President Muhammadu Buhari and his expectation from his second term, urged Buhari to use his reelection to do the right thins in the sector.

While calling for an improved infrastructure at airports, Onyema decried the present state of infrastructure at the airports which he said were below world standard.

How Bala’s PDP defeated power of incumbency in Bauchi

According to him, without a solid foundation, it will be difficult for the domestic airlines in Nigeria to get things right.

Thanking the Buhari government for carrying out some policies which impacted positively on airlines, he cited the import duty waiver granted on aircraft spare parts coming into the country just as he called on government to engender more policies that will be of immense benefit to the aviation sector.

The Airline Chairman used the occasion to frown at the multiple designation has been given the foreign airlines operating in Nigeria calling on government to review the policy.

Citing how many of the foreign airlines have been allowed to operate into two or more airports in Nigeria at a go while Nigerian airlines are getting hostile reactions from the home governments of the foreign carriers, he challenged the federal government insisting that Nigerian airlines cannot grow under that circumstance.

Onyema called on the domestic carriers to codeshare and form alliances with the foreign airlines.

Speaking on the exorbitant price and scarcity of Jet A1, otherwise known as aviation fuel, Onyema urged to urgently look into the issue which he said was seriously affecting the cost of domestic airline operations.

Equally, he challenged the Buhari led government to review the security processes at the country’s airports saying this became necessary in view of the present security threats by terrorists.

His words: “Federal government pay more attention to such situations when a passenger can run to stop a moving plane, when passengers protesting can decide to block fellow passengers from boarding flights. All these should be looked into”.